ENI9:,.-uJGY 
LIBRARY 


REPORT 


OF   SOME 


INJURIOUS   INSECTS 


OF    THK    YKA'R    1878. 


BY   J.    A.    L1NTNER 


[Reprinted  from    the  Thirty -eighth  Annual   Report  of  the    New  York   State 
Agricultural  Society,  -JS7S.' 


ALBANY: 

rilAIM.KS   VAN   1JKXTFI U  VSKN  A:   s<>\>. 

1880. 


REPORT 


OF   SOME 


INJURIOUS    INSECTS 


OF    THE    YEAJEl    1878 


BY  J.   A.   LINTNER. 


[Reprinted  from  the  Thirty-eighth  Annual  Report  of  the  New  York]  State 
Agricultural  Society,  1878. n 


ALBANY: 

CHARLES  VAN  BENTHUYSEN  &  SONS. 

1880. 


CNTOMOLOGf  | 


REPORT 


OF 


SOME  INJURIOUS  INSECTS  OF  THE  YEAR  1878, 


BY    J.    A.    LINTNER. 


It  should  not  be  necessary,  and  I  trust  iysfrot,  that  extended  remarks 
should  be  offered  to  the  members  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society  upon  the  importance  of  the  study  of  insects  in  their  economic 
relations.  You  are  all  prepared  to  bear  ready  witness  to  the  truth  that 
the  difficulties  which  you  have  to  encounter,  are  not  so  much  with  an 
unproductive  soil  as  with  over-productive  insects  :  the  field,  the  orchard 
and  the  garden,  bear  one  unvarying  testimony  to  this  truth.  You  have 
all  felt  the  tax  imposed  upon  your  labor  and  its  expected  product, 
through  insect  injuries,  but  few  of  you  are  prepared  to  realize  the  reg- 
ular recurrence  of  this  tax  and  its  magnitude,  from  the  insidious  secrecy 
with  which  it  is  levied  and  enforced.  A  moment's  reflection  will  con- 
vince you  that  a  half-crop,  as  the  direct  result  of  the  depredations  of  the 
wheat-midge,  the  Hessian-fly,  the  grain-aphis,  the  army-worm — or  a 
score  of  other  pests  which  might  be  enumerated  can  have  but  this  inter- 
pretation— a  levy  of  fifty  per  cent  upon  the  aggregate  value  of  the  crop 
— usually  submitted  to  without  an  effort  being  made  to  resist  itsrecurrence 
another  year.  Were  the  State  to  make  this  assessment — not  to  spread 
it  through  myriads  of  ravenous  stomachs  as  excrementa  upon  the  ground, 
but  to  mold  and  pile  up  the  enduring  granite  of  yonder  noble  struc- 
ture, in  which  succeeding  generations  may  feel  an  honest  pride — would 
it  be  as  quietly  submitted  to?  That  crop  is  an  exceptional  one  which 
the  insect  does  not  tithe,  often  without  our  knowledge.  The  poverty  and 
starvation  which  the  Rocky  Mountain  locust  has  borne  with  it  through 
our  Western  States  and  Territories,  tells  of  destruction  of  entire  crops  as 
complete  as  if  swept  by  a  fire. 

To  present  these  losses  in  a  somewhat  comprehensible  form,  it  may  be 
stated,  that  a  careful  estimate  of  losses  through  insecr,  ravages  within 
the  United  States,  based  upon  the  census  returns  of  the  value  of  the 
agricultural  products  of  the  country,  and  estimates  of  injuries  inflicted 
by  certain  insects  within  certain  States,  gives,  as  the  aggregate  of  an- 
nual losses,  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  ($200,000,000).  The  loss 
occasioned  by  the  chinch-bug  alone,  in  Illinois,  in  a  single  year,  was 
computed  at  .seventy-three  millions  of  dollars  ($73,000,000). 

337225 


>   4 

Without,  dwelling  longer  upon  these  considerations,  permit  me  to  pass 
directly  to  a  brief  notice  of  a  few  injurious  insects  which  have  come 
within  my  notice  during  the  past  year — a  year,  it  may  be  incidentally 
remarked,  so  signalized  by  a  scarcity  of  insects,  that  the  work  of  col- 
lecting for  the  cabinet,  and  for  scientific  study,  was  almost  abandoned. 
•The  report  made  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  at  St.  Louis,  in  August  last,  from  entomolo- 
gists representing  the  various  portions  of  the  United  States,  was  unani- 
mous, that  of  the  Noctuidae  (a  family  of  the  moths  comprising  the  cut- 
worms and  a  large  proportion  of  the  species  most  detrimental  to  the 
agriculturist),  not  one  individual  was  to  be  found,  where  a  hundred  were 
to  be  met  with  the  preceding  year. 

Your  attention  will  first  be  invited  to  an  insect  which  now  for  the  first 
time  claims  local  habitation  and  a  name  in  our  list  of  insect  foes.  It 
may  be  called 

THE  CLOVER-SEED  FLY — Cecidomyia  trifolii  n.  sp. 

Early  in  the  month  of  June,  1877,  some  heads  of  red  clover  (Trifolium 
pratense)  were  brought  to  rne  by  Mr.  T.  L.  Harison,  Secretary  of  the  New 
York  State  Agricultural  Society,  and  my  attention  was  called  to  some  small, 
worm-like  creatures  contained  within  the  heads,  and  apparently  feed- 
ing upon  the  seeds.  From  their  acutely  elliptical  form  and  vermi- 
form movements  when  taken  from  the  clover  and  placed  upon  a  table, 
they  seemed  to  be  the  larvae  of  some  species  of  dipterous  insect.  All  the 
writers  upon  economic  entomology  at  my  command,  American  and  Euro- 
pean, were  searched  for  a  notice  of  the  insect,  but  no  mention  of  it  was  found. 

During  the  same  month,  examination  of  heads  of  clover  collected 
at  West  Albany,  at  West  Troy,  and  it  is  believed  at  one  or  two  other 
localities  in  the  State,  was  made  by  Mr.  Charles  H.  Peck,  State  Botanist, 
whose  attention  had  been  called  to  the  insect,  and  the  larvae  were  dis- 
covered within  them. 

On  the  19th  of  the  same  month,  during  a  field  meeting  of  the  Troy 
Scientific  Association  held  at  Schroon  Lake,  Warren  county,  N.  Y.,  the 
larvae,  in  small  numbers,  were  found  by  me  in  some  heads  plucked  in  the 
village  of  Schroon.  Subsequently  my  engagements  were  of  such  a 
nature,  that  I  made  no  further  observations  on  the  "clover-seed  worm" 
during  the  season. 

In  the  fore  part  of  August,  1878,  heads  of  red  clover  were  handed  to 
me  by  Mr.  Harison,  which  were  said  to  have  been  taken  from  an  infested 
field,  but  I  failed  to  detect  the  presence  of  larvae.  On  the  19th  of  the 
same  month,  six  heads  were  sent  from  the  President  of  your  Society,  Mr. 
George  W.  Hoffman,  of  Elmira,  N.  Y.  They  contained  very  few  seeds, 
but  the  examination  was  not  sufficiently  thorough  to  enable  me  to  say 
whether  the  seeds  had  not  been  formed,  or  if  their  substance  had  been 
devoured  by  the  larvae — the  latter  was  thought  at  the  time  to  be  the 
explanation  of  their  paucity.  Within  some  of  the  pods  larvae  were 
found  very  nearly  filling  their  interior. 

Upon  picking  the  flowers  apart  and  strewing  them  upon  a  black  surface, 
the  larvae  readily  left  their  concealment  and  commenced  traveling  over  the 
table.  The  flowers  were  shaken  several  times  during  a  half-hour,  until 
110  more  larvae  emerged  from  them.  A  number  of  the  pods  were  then 
opened,  but  all  were  found  deserted  by  the  occupants  which  they  may 
have  contained.  It  is  probable  that  the  larger  number  of  the  larvae  had 
matured  and  left  the  heads  before  they  were  received  by  me. 


Fifty  larvae  were  obtained  from  the  six  clover  heads.  Of  these,  ten 
were  deposited  in  alcohol  for  more  careful  study  than  could  be  given  them 
at  the  time ;  the  remainder  were  placed  in  a  small  pot  containing  damp 
sand,  in  which  they  all  buried  themselves  within  an  hour  thereafter — 
some  entering  it  as  quickly  as  the  operation  could  be  performed,  and 
others  after  a  longer  or  shorter  preliminary  travel. 

Their  appearance  at  this  time  was  as  follows :  The  head,  small  and 
acute  ;  the  body,  elliptical,  moderately  constricted  at  the  joints,  flattened 
on  the  sides,  rather  rounded  behind,  without  feet,  of  a  pinkish  color  ap- 
proaching orange;  length  eight-hundredths  of  an  inch. 

A  later  microscopic  examination  of  the  larvae  which  had  been  preserved 
in  alcohol,  disclosed  characters  which  led  me  to  refer  them,  with  very 
little  doubt,  to  the  Cecidomyidae,  and  probably  to  Cecidomyia — the  genus 
to  which  belong,  among  many  others,  two  species,  the  names  of  which 
are  only  too  familiar  to  our  agriculturists — the  Hessian-fly  and  the  wheat- 
midge  (Cecidomyia  destructor  and  Diplosis  tritici  of  entomological  litera- 
ture). Dr.  Hagen,  of  Cambridge,  to  whom  I  submitted  my  alcoholic 
specimens,  also  recognized  them  as  belonging  to  Cecidomyia.  He  has, 
in  addition,  kindly  examined  the  European  authorities  in  economical 
entomology  contained  in  the  extensive  library  at  Cambridge,  and  has 
informed  me  that  he  finds  no  record  therein  of  any  Cecidomyia  or  allied 
form  preying  upon  the  seeds  of  clover.  As  by  far  the  larger  number  of 
this  family  are  monophagous — i.  e.,  living  on  a  single  species  of  plant  or 
closely  allied  species,  there  is  every  probability  that  from  the  secrecy 
with  which  this  minute  insect  has  been  prosecuting  its  work,  and  possi- 
bly from  its  not  yet  having  multiplied  to  a  formidable  extent,  it  has  re- 
mained, until  within  the  past  two  years,  undetected,  and  that  the  present 
is  its  first  introduction  to  public  notice. 

Baron  Osten-Sacken,  in  his  excellent  paper  On  the  North  American  Ceci- 
domyidoe,  pp.  173-205  of  the  Monograph  of  the  Diptera  of  North  America, 
by  H.  Lowe,  Part  1,  groups  the  N.  A.  species  in  three  categories,  viz. : 
a,  those  of  which  the  perfect  insect  is  described  but  its  habits  unknown  ; 
6,  gall  or  larva  known  but  perfect  insect  unknown ;  c,  perfect  insect  de- 
scribed and  its  habits  known.  Under  b,  the  category  in  which  our  new 
species  falls,  thirty-two  species  are  arranged,  whence  it  may  be  seen  that 
there  is  ample  authority  for  not  awaiting  the  knowledge  of  the  perfect 
insect  before  the  bestowment  of  the  scientific  name. 

The  alcoholic  specimens  of  the  larvae,  as  seen  under  a  low  magnifying 
power,  presented  the  following  features :  Head  (outline  with 
following  segment  represented  at  a)  subacute,  subtriangular, 
slightly  rounded  laterally  on  its  posterior  half,  giving  that 
portion  a  subquadrangular  form  ;  a  short  cylindrical,  horny 
process  at  its  tip,  and  two  longer  antenrial  processes,  cylindri- 
cal, tapering  apically.  Body  delicately  chagreened ;  later- 
ally at  abotit  the  middle  of  each  segment,  a  short,  fleshy  pa- 
pill  iforrn  process,  with  two  short  bristles  of  unequal  length, 
near  the  posterior  of  the  segment ;  posterior  segment  bilobed, 
each  lobe  armed  with  two  short  fleshy  processes  of  which  the 
outer  is  the  longer ;  "  breast  bone  "  of  a  pale,  yellowish  color,  the  portion 
exposed  appearing  as  represented  at  b — its  projecting  end  divided  into 
two  rather  bltmt,  laterally  rounded  points.  A  dorsal  row  of  processes 
similar  to  the  lateral  ones  is  suspected,  but  was  not  definitely  made  out. 

In  placing1  the  lame  under  a  one-fifth  objective,  for  their  more  critical 
examination,  they  were  unfortunately  so  badly  crushed  as  to  be  un- 
serviceable for  further  description. 


The  Cecidomyidae,  in  their  larval  and  pupal  stages,  are  known  to 
possess  remarkable  vitality,  and  there  is,  therefore,  good  reason  to  believe 
that  the  perfect  fly  will  soon  be  obtained  from  some,  at  least,  of  the  thirty 
larvae  which  buried  themselves  last  August  in  the  sand  which  I  gave 
them,  as  before  stated,  and  that  its  description  may  then  be  secured. 
Dr.  Fitch,  in  liis  account  of  the  wheat-midge  (Sixth  Report  Insects  of  New 
IW/r,  p.  57)  writes  :  "  When  a  larva  is  but  half-grown,  we  have  seen  that 
although  deprived  of  food  it  does  riot  die,  and  though  kept  from  moisture 
for  many  months  it  does  not  dry  up  so  as  to  perish.  Thus  no  extremity 
of  hunger  or  of  thirst  seems  to  have  powej'  to  kill  them." 
,  The  above  statement  gives  encouragement  that  the  possibly  prema- 
ture burial  of  my  larvae,  and  their  having  been  meanwhile  kept  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  in  a  warm  room  without  moisture,  may  not 
have  proved  fatal  to  them,  but  that  they  are  safely  hybernating  within 
their  minute  globular  cocoons,  which  there  would  be  but  the  slightest 
chance  of  detecting  for  the  purpose  of  examination,  even  if  a  very  close 
search  were  made  for  them.  We  will  hope  that  these  cocoons,  within 
the  ensuing  two  months,  from  the  warm  temperature  to  which  they  have 
been  subjected  hastening  their  development,  will  open  by  a  smoothly  cut 
hemispherical  lid,  and  disclose  the  delicate,  tiny  fly,  in  all  probability 
new  to  science,  and  with  which,  it  is  apprehended,  we  may  hereafter 
become  too  well  acquainted. 

The  extent  of  injury  which  the  clover-seed  fly  may  have  already 
inflicted,  or  is  destined  in  the  future  -to  inflict,  can  at  the  present  be  only 
conjectured.  It  is  possible  that,  for  many  years  past,  this  little  creature, 
so  insignificant  in  size,  has  been  secretly  levying  a  heavy  tax  upon  the 
clover-seed  culture  of  our 'State,  seriously  diminishing  the  annual  yield, 
while  its  operations  have  been  charged  to  unfavorable  climatic  condi- 
tions, or  to  imperfectvfertilization  of  the  blossoms  through  a  scarcity  of  that 
important  if  not  indispensable  agent  in  the  work  of  fertilization — the 
humble-bee.  Or  it  may  have  but  entered  on  a  career,  which  if  unchecked 
by  parasitic  agency,  will  result  in  the  entire  destruction  of  the  seed  in 
infested  districts,  compelling,  as  did  its  congeiior  Jjiplosis  tritici  with  the 
wheat,  its  importation  from  localities  where  the  pest  may  not  abound. 

The  range  of  this  insect  will  be  an  interesting  subject  of  inquiry  for 
the  coming  season.  Does  it  occur  throughout  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  is  it  to  be  found  in  other  of  the  States  ?.  Will  it  be  detected  in  Eu- 
rope, from  which  its  food-plant  was  introduced,  now  that  its  lurking- 
place  is  known  ?  Is  its  aitack  confined  to  the  Trifolium  pratense,  or 
does  it  extend  to  the  T.  hybridum  (the  Alsike  clover)  and  other  species  ? 

To  the  extent  that  my  engagements  permit,  it  will  be  my  pleasure  to 
investigate  the  history  of  this  interesting  insect  the  coming  season,  pro- 
mising, as  it  does,  a  considerable  degree  of  economic  importance. 

THE  CARPET-BUG — Anthrenus  scrophularice  (Linn.). 
In  my  communication  presented  to  this  Society  two  years  ago  (Trans. 
N.  Y.  State  Agricul.  Soc.,  vol.  xxxii,  p.  240),  I  gave  a  brief  account  of 
this  new  insect  pest  which  was  exciting  much  alarm  in  several  portions 
of  our  country,  from  the  serious  depredations  which  it  was  making  upon 
carpets,  and  the  great  difficulty  that  had  been  experienced  in  the 
attempts  made  to  check  its  ravages.  A  more  extended  notice  of  the 
insect,  giving  descriptions  of  the  different  stages,  together  with  illustra- 
tions of  the  same,  has  since  been  prepared  by  me  and  contributed  to  the 
Thirtieth  Annual  Report  of  the  /State  Museum  of  Natural  History,  advance 


sheets  of  which  have  been  printed  and  a  copy  placed  in  the  library  of 
the  State  Agricultural  Society.  The  illustrations  of  the  transformations 
are  herewith 
presented.  At  a 
the  larva,  popu- 
larly known  as 


form  in  which  it 
is  usually  found 
in  its  hiding 
place  beneath 
the  borders  of 
carpets  during 

the  period  of  its  ravages.  At  5,  a  cast  skin  of  the  larva  is  shown,  sev- 
eral of  which  are  thrown  off  during  its  growth,  arid  numbers  of  which 
may  be  found  in  the  crevices  of  the  floors  of  infested  houses.  Fig.  c 
represents  the  pupa,  which  is  retained  within  the  skin  of  the  larva,  and 
may  be  seen  during  this  stage,  through  the  fissure  on  the  back  shown  in 
b.  When  fully  matured,  the  pupa-case  also  splits  open  on  the  back,  dis- 
closing the  wing-covers  of  the  beetle,  beautifully  marked  in  white,  black 
and  red.  At  d  the  beetle  is  represented.  The  figures  are  enlarged — 
the  accompanying  lines  indicating  the  natural  size. 

Some  additional  information  respecting  the  insect  has  been  obtained 
since  the  publication  of  the  account  above  referred  to,  which  is  herewith, 
in  part,  presented. 

The  apprehension  was  then  expressed  that  when  the  threatened  mul- 
tiplication of  this  beetle  reached  the  extent  that  it  would  be  found  feed- 
ing upon  flowers  after  the  habit  of  its  corigenor,  the  museum-pest,  the 
Anthrenus  varius,  the  comfort  of  carpeted  floors  would  hardly  be  allowed 
us.  Already  we  have  learned  that  it  is  no  longer  confined  within  doors, 
where  an  occasional  specimen  may  be  captured  upon  window-panes  or 
articles  of  clothing1,  for  under  date  of  September  14,  1878,  Mr.  A.  S. 
Fuller,  of  the  Rural  New-Yorker,  has  communicated.to  me  the  following 
information  :  "I  have  taken  the  A.  scrophularice  in  goodly  numbers  this 
season,  feeding  on  Spircea  aruncus — on  the  pollen,  not  on  the  honey  or 
leaves.  It  will  undoubtedly  visit  other  species  of  the  Spiraea  blooming 
in  summer."  Mr.  Fuller  suggests  that  these  flowers  will  serve  as  an 
excellent  bait  by  means  of  which  the  beetles  can  be  collected  and 
destroyed. 

Public  attention  was  first  drawn  to  the  ravages  of  this  insect,  through 
newspaper  notice,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1874.  It  has 
been  recently  announced  that  it  had  been  observed  in  the  city  of  Boston 
two  years  earlier — in  1872.  Since  that  time — perhaps  the  year  of  its 
introduction — it  has  multiplied  to  so  great  an  extent  as  to  have  occa- 
sioned serious  alarm.  In  a  late  communication  upon  the  subject  to  the 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  Histcfrn,  Dr.  Hagen,  of  the  Museum  of  Com- 
parative Zoology  at  Cambridge,  stated  that  its  increase  the  past 
summer  (of  1878)  was  so  great  as  to  be  entirely  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
probability.  It  was  evident  that  it  had  propagated  and  spread  in  an 
alarming  manner,  and  in  illustration  thereof,  he  presents  the  following 
statement :  "  A  gentleman  had  the  entire  outfit  of  his  recently  married 
daughter  destroyed  ;  another  had  furnished  a  new  house,  and  had  to 
begin  the  same  task  over  again  ;  a  lady  found  all  her  winter  clothing 


8 

damaged,  arid  before  she  was  aware  of  the  presence  of  the  depredator, 
her  carpets  were  entirely  destroyed."  These,  and  many  similar  cases 
were  investigated,  and  it  was  discovered  that  about  three-fourths  of  the 
infested  carpets  had  been  purchased  at  a  certain  carpet  store,  the  pro- 
prietor of  which  had  bought  a  large  stock,  which  he  was  disposing  of  at 
reduced  rates. 

In  consideration  of  the  grave  results  of  introducing  an  infested  carpet 
in  one's  4iome,  it  was  recommended  to  the  Bostonians  that  every  new 
carpet  or  rug  should  be  considered  as  dangerous,  and  first  exposed  in 
strong  sunshine  in  the  open  air  and  strongly  beaten,  before  laying  it  on 
the  floor.  The  common  custom  of  ordering  new  carpets  from  the  stores 
to  be  laid  down  at  once,  was  pronounced  as  attended  with  great  danger. 
Dr.  Hagen  also  recommended,  as  a  means  of  preventing  the  entrance  of 
the  insects,  that  the  joinings  of  the  floors  (their  favorite  habitat)  should 
be  filled  with  the  softest  common  tallow,  and  that  tallowed  paper  should 
be  placed  underneath  the  carpets,  extending  in  strips  of  a  foot  or  two 
around  the  room  adjoining  the  walls. 

In  addition  to  the  reason  assigned  for  the  above  recommendation,  viz. : 
that  the  tallow  is  avoided  by  the  larvae  of  the  carpet-beetle,  as  it  would 
readily  attach  itself  to  them  and  close  their  spiracles  or  breathing-pores, 
it  may  be  stated,  that  the  odor  of  tallow  is  disagreeable  and  repellent  to 
a  large  number  of  insects,  and  that  it  has  long  been  the  custom  to  pro- 
tect woolen  goods  from  the  clothes-moth,  during  the  summer  months,  by 
placing  among  them  a  tallow  candle  wrapped  in  paper.)  For  some  time 
past,  I  have  employed  the  same  protective  means  for  the  preservation  of 
my  entomological  collection  from  the  attack  of  the  Dermestes  lardarins 
and  the  Anthrenus  varius,  by  placing  tallow  candles  among"  my  cases, 
and  small  pieces  of  the  same  within  the  cases.  Some  interesting  experi- 
ments recently  made  with  a  colony  of  Dermestes,  probably  the  familiar 
larder-beetle  (see  Canadian  Entomologist,  vol.  x,  p.  141,  1^78),  gave  the 
following  results  :  They  were  confined  in  a  glass  jar,  and  apiece  of  cam- 
phor placed  therein.  At  first  they  manifested  soine  uneasiness,  but  in  a 
minute  or  two  commenced  traveling  about  and  over  the  camphor  with 
entire  unconcern.  Upon  a  small  piece  of  tallow  being  dropped  in  the 
jar,  the  effect  was  instantaneous  and  ludicrous — a  regular  stampede 
ensued.  The  beetles  fled  precipitately  to  the  side  of  the  jar,  and  after 
endeavoring  to  effect  their  escape,  they  huddled  together  in  a  mass, 
where  they  remained  so  long  as  observed.  The  jar  was  set  aside,  and 
upon  looking  at  it  again  a  fortnight  thereafter,  only  one  dead  beetle  was 
found  of  the  large  family.  It  is  presumable  that  they  died  soon  after 
their  exposure  to  the  tallow,  and  had  eaten  up  the  dead  bodies  of  one 
another. 

In  one  of  my  early  communications  on  this  insect,  it  was  stated  that  I 
had  found  no  mention  of  its  preying  upon  carpets  or  other  woolens  in 
Europe,  where  it  had  been  long  known,  and  the  suggestion  was  advanced 
that  it  may  have  developed  a  new  taste  with  its  introduction  in  this 
country.  Since  that  statement  was  made,  mention  has  been  brought  to 
my  notice  of  its  feeding  upon  clothing  in  Europe.  It  is  written  of  it:  "  It 
is  common  in  houses,  where  it  can  become  very  obnoxious  by  the  de- 
struction of  furs,  clothes,  animal  collections,  and  even  leather  and  dried 
plants.  The  obnoxious  larva  is  common  in  closets  and  rooms  in  the  attic, 
where  it  finds  dead  flies,  and  from  whence  it/enters  other  rooms."  It  is 
usually  met  with  in  Europe  on  flowers,  such  as  roses  and  tulips,  and  often 
on  fruit  trees.  A  popular  name  for  it,  in  some  parts  of  the  continent,  is 


9 

the  flower-beetle.  The  fact  of  its  riot  having  been  known  as  a  carpet 
pest  in  Europe,  is  doubtless  owing  to  the  very  few  carpets  that  are  used 
in  that  country — their  use  there  being  almost  wholly  confined  to  the 
winter  season,  while  during  the  summer  months,  the  period  in  which  the 
larvae  commit  their  ravages,  they  are  withdrawn  from  the  floors  and 
carefully  stored  and  protected  from  harm. 

It  is  a  very  common  insect  in  Europe.  In  a  catalogue  of  the  Coleoptera 
of  Norway,  by  H.  Tiebke,  published  in  1875  (Catalogum  Loleoptorum  In- 
sectorum  Norvegicorum),  it  is  recorded  as  "of  frequent  occurrence  in 
various  localities  in  Norway  [thirteen  cited],  principally  upon  umbellifer- 
ous flowers,  during  the  months  of  June,  July  and  August." 

Judging  from  the  rate  of  increase  and  distribution  of  other  insect  pests 
introduced  from  the  Eastern  world,  and  from  the  history  thus  far  of  the 
species  under  consideration,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  before 
many  years  have  elapsed,  this  most  unwelcome  guest  of  our  homes  will 
become  as  abundant  among  us  as  it  is,  at  present,  in  Europe.  When  that 
time  arrives,  a  carpeted  floor,  now  regarded  as  a  necessity  in  almost  the 
humblest  home,  will  then  be  the  exception,  unless  more  effectual  meas- 
ures against  the  new  enemy  shall  have  been  discovered.  But  with  the 
rest  which  we  predict  for  the  looms  of  our  carpet  manufacturers,  we  fore- 
see a  wonderfully  increased  importation  of  Persian  rugs.  The  pleas 
which  will  come  up  from  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land  for  the 
coveted  rug  will  be  too  powerful  to  resist,  when  urged  by  coaxing  lips 
with  such  arguments  as-^"  so  much  more  cleanly,  and  then,  you  know, 
so  much  cheaper  than  a  carpet ;  for,  not  reaching  to  the  walls,  under 
which  the  horrid  carpet-bug  hides,  we  shall  not  have  to  buy  a  new  one 
every  year." 

THE  FLEA — Pulex  irritam  (Linn.). 

From  a  neighboring  city  and  an  adjoining  State  (Boston,  Massachu- 
setts), comes  notes  of  alarm,  occasioned  by  the  sudden  increase  during 
the  year  1877,  and  an  invasion,  in  1878,  of  the  common  flea.  Dr.  Hagen 
states,  that  eleven  years  ago,  while  this  well-known  insect  was  satisfac- 
torily common  in  New  York  and  Canada,  it  was  so  rare  in  New  England 
that  he  did  not  believe  that  it  existed  there  at  all.  K  was  a  long  time 
before  he  could  procure  a  human  flea  for  an  examination  which  he 
desired  to  make — all  which  were  brought  to  him  were  dog  or  cat-fleas. 
Simultaneous  with  the  above  invasion,  the  cat-flaa  became  exceedingly 
abundant.  In  many  of  the  streets  of  the  suburbs  of  Boston,  cats  might 
be  seen  having  their  body  nearly  covered  with  the  Persian  insect  powder. 
From  Medford,  in  Massachusetts,  a  phial  of  flea  eggs  was  received, 
which  a  lady  had  taken  from  a  spot  on  her  sofa  which  a  pet  cat  had 
appropriated  for  her  resting  place  ;  and  similar  instances  of  the  propa- 
gation of  the  cat-flea  were  elsewhere  observed. 

Many  residences  in  the  city  of  Boston  and  in  its  suburbs,  have  become 
infested  by  the  human  flea,  in  such  number  as  seriously  to  detract  from 
the  comfort  of  carpeted  floors.  To  those  suffering  from  this  remarkable 
invasion  of  their  homes  by  a  most  annoying  pest,  of  wonderful  powers  of 
increase,  the  diminutive  size  and  agility  of  which  renders  its  capture  by 
hand  almost  an  impossibility,  Dr.  Hagen  has  been  able  to  suggest  a 
very  simple  method  of  capture  and  destruction,  which  has  long  been 
practiced  in  Poland,  that  "  paradise  of  fleas/'  and  which  it  may  be  well 
for  us  to  bear  in  mind  against  a"  time  of  need,  should  the  Massachusetts 
invasion  extend  to  New  York.  It  is  simply  to  place  on  the  floor  of  the 


10 

infested  room  at  night,  a  wash-bowl  filled  with  water,  and  in  the  middle 
of  it  a  lighted  candle.  Like  many  other  insects,  the  fleas  are  attracted 
to  the  light,  and  leaping  toward  it,  are  caught  in  the  water  and  drowned. 
Persons  who  had  experimented  with  the  above  trap,  reported  it  as  most 
effectual,  and  as  giving  promise  of  a  speedy  release  from  the  affliction. 
In  some  instances  the  water  of  the  bowl  was  stated  to  have  been  "  black 
with  fleas  "  caught  during  the  night. 

A  NEW  CORN  DEPREDATOR — Euryomia  Inda  (Linn.). 

From  various  sections  «f  the  State  of  New  York  and  of  New  England, 
complaints  have  been  made  of  an  insect  which  was  proving  very  injurir 
ous  to  standing  corn,  by  burrowing  beneath  the  husks  and  feeding  upon 
the  kernels.  All  the  accounts  stated  that  it  had  never  before  been 
known  to  prey  upon  corn.  The  following  notice  of  it  is  extracted  from 
a  New  Haven,  Conn.,  paper  of  September  7th,  1878 : 

The  Corn-Bug. — The  corn-fields  of  the  interior  of  the  State  are  suffer- 
ing from  a  brown-colored,  six-legged  bu^,  having  a  broad  body  and  a 
small  head,  which  starts  at  the  tips  of  the  ears  and  works  through  to  the 
butt,  devouring  the  kernels.  Meriden  and  Burlington  report  the  rav- 
ages of  the  pest.  A  correspondent  from  the  latter  place  says :  '  Fields 
of  corn  are  ruined  almost  in  a  single  day.'  A  gentleman,  of  Wood- 
bridge,  picked  twenty  of  the  bugs  off  two  ears  of  corn,  August  30th.  The 
general  impression  among  farmers  is,  that  this  pest  will  prove  more  dis- 
astrous than  even  the  potato  bug." 

From  examples  received,  it  proved  to  be  no  new  insect,  but  one  that 
had  long  been  known  to  science,  and  familiar  to  all  entomologists  as 
Cetonia  Inda.  The  Cetoniaris  are  preeminently  flower-beetles,  their 
mouth  organs  being  provided  with  a  brush  of  hairs  with  which  to  col- 
lect the  pollen  of  the  flowers  which  they  frequent,  as  those  of  the  golden- 
rod,  et  cet.  They  are  diurnal  in  their  habits,  flying  actively  about,  with 
a  loud,  humming  noise  like  that  of  bees,  in  the  warm  and  bright  sun- 
shine. There  are  eighteen  species  of  the  Cetonidae  known  to  North 
America,  of  which  the  C.  Inda,  or  as  it  has  been  designated  since  the 
subdivision  of  the  old  genus  of  Cetonia — the  Euryomia  Inda,  is  our  most 
common  species.  It  is  a  thick-bodied  beetle,  measuring  about  six-tenths 
of  an  inch  in  length.  Harris  describes  it  as  having  a  broad  body,  very 
obtuse  behind,  with  a  triangular  thorax,  and  a  little  wedge-shaped  piece 
on  each  side  between,  the  hinder  angles  of  the  thorax  and  shoulders  of 
the  wing-covers ;  the  latter,  taken  together,  form  an  oblong  square,  but 
are  somewhat  notched  or  widely  scalloped  on  the  middle  of  the  outer 
edges.  The  head  and  thorax  are  dark  copper-brown  or  almost  black,  and 
thickly  covered  with  short  greenish-yellow  hairs  ;  the  wing-cases  are 
light  yellowish-brown,  but  changeable  with  pearly  and  metallic  tints, 
and  spattered  with  numerous,  irregular,  black  spots  ;  the  underside  of 
the  body,  which  is  very  hairy,  is  of  a  black  color,  with  the  edges  of  the 
rings  and  the  legs  dull  red. 

That  one  of  the  flower-beetles  should  present  itself  to  our  notice  as  a 
corn  pest,  has  excited  no  little  surprise  even  among  entomologists.  Its 
habit  of  frequenting  sap  trees  in  the  spring  to  partake  of  the  sap,  has 
long  been  known,  and  it  has  also  been  chargeable  with  burrowing  into 
ripe  peaches  to  feast  upon  the  sweet  and  luscious  pulp.  An  entomologi- 
cal correspondent  of  the  New  Haven  paper  from  which  we  have  quoted 
above,  Mr.  H.  F.  Bassett,  questions  the  statements  made  that  this  insect 
is  the  author  of  the  injuries  credited  to  it,  and  says :  "  It  would  be  just 


11 

like  it  to  prowl  around  and  in  ears  of  corn  that  some  bird  or  beast 
had  meddled  with,  but  to  strip  the  husks  off  and  gnaw  the  cobs,  would 
be  quite  beyond  the  power  of  any  flower-eating  beetle  known  to  me, 
their  mouth  not  being  fitted  for  hard  or  difficult  work." 

The  above-mentioned  writer  also  states  that  he  had  looked  over  a  large 
portion  of  our  economic,  entomological  literature  consisting  of  the  New 
York  reports  of  Dr.  Fitch  and  the  Missouri  reports  of  Riley,  the  reports 
of  the  Canadian  Entomological  Society,  and  the  volumes  of  the  Ameri- 
can Entomologist,  without  finding  any  reference  to  this  species  as  particu- 
larly destructive  to  anything  but  sweet,  juicy  fruits.  Upon  further 
search,  1  find  that  he  had  overlooked  a  statement  made  by  Dr.  Le  Baron, 
formerly  State  Entomologist  of  Illinois,  in  his  Fourth  Annual  Report t 
(1874),  where,  in  a  very  brief  reference  to  E.  Inda,  he  says  of  it :  "  It  is' 
sometimes  troublesome  by  burrowing  into  ripe  fruit,  and  also  by  feeding 
upon  sweet  corn  in  the  milk," 

The  idea  advanced  by  Mr.  Bassett,  above  quoted,  that  this  insect  is 
not  alone  chargeable  with  the  injury  to  the  corn,  finds  support  in  a  com- 
munication to  the  Country  Gentleman  of  January  16,  1879,  from  a  cor- 
respondent at  Flushing,  N.  Y.,  which  at  the  same  time  adds  another 
count  to  the  formidable  bill  of  indictment  against  that  unmitigated  nui- 
sance— the  English  sparrow.  The  correspondent  writes  :  "  I  had  fifty 
or  sixty  hills  of  corn  planted  in  my  garden,  which  came  up  and  thrived 
wonderfully,  and  we  found  it  deliciously  sweet;  so  did  the  English  spar- 
rows. For  a  considerable  time  we  found,  after  it  was  fully  ripe,  many 
ears  were  eaten  for  five  or  six  inches  from  the  top,  and  upon  examining 
the  places  closely,  I  found  one  or  two  bugs  in  each  one  about  the  size  of 
the  Colorado  bug,  with  a  mottled  back,  something  like  in  color  to  a  tor- 
toise shell,  with  considerable  hair  on  the  under-side  and  legs,  which  I 
picked  off  and  destroyed.  This  I  followed  up  for  three  or  four  days,  but 
one  morning,  going  to  the  corn  earlier  than  usual,  I  saw  on  one  ear  seven 
of  the  sparrows  making  a  new  opening  where  there  was  none  before. 
Of  course,  here  was  the  solution.  After  I  had  put  a  coat,  pantaloons 
and  hat  on  some  sticks  nailed  together  and  stood  it  up  in  the  middle  of 
the  corn,  I  had  no  more  trouble  with  them.  I  had  supposed  that  the 
bugs  did  the  mischief,  but  they  had  only  entered  whero  the  birds  had 
made  an  opening." 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  past  year  was  one  in  which  the  species 
occurred  in  unusual  abundance,  and  its  ordinary  food  not  being  met 
with  in  sufficient  quantity  to  supply  the  wants  of  such  a  host,  it  was  led 
to  resort  to  the  juices  of  the  tender  corn,  as  an  exceptional  article  of 
food.  Its  large  numbers,  the  past  season,  give  no  assurance,  fortunately, 
of  an  increased  or  even  an  equal  number  the  present  year,  for  it  is  well 
known  to  entomologists,  that  a  year  noted  for  the  invasion  of  some  par- 
ticular species  of  insect,  may  be  followed  by  one  when  the  same  insect 
may  be  rarely  met  with. 

Dr.  Harris'  statement  that  this  insect  has  its  second  brood  about  the 
middle  of  September,  in  Massachusetts,  may  need  some  modification. 
Examples  of  this  brood  were  found  as  early  as  the  middle  of  August, 
near  Bridgeport,  Conn.  Mr.  Bassett  records  its  having  been  seen  by 
him  feeding  on  the  sap  which  flows  from  certain  woody  galls  on  oak 
trees.  The  intense  bitterness  or  acidity  of  most  galls  would  seem  to  be 
very  unlike  the  sweets  for  which  it  manifests  so  great  partiality. 

Another  species  of  this  genus,  the  Ktu-jnnnia  'iiu'i'iiicl/olica  Gory,  of 
which  a  figure  is  given  in  the  American  Entomologist^  vol.  ii,  p.  01,  fig. 


12 

89,  is  frequently  found  in  Illinois,  boring  into  apples,  and  according  to 
Prof.  Riley,  is  fond  of  eating  into  the  flowers  and  fruits  of  a  variety  of 
plants. 

THE  PEACH-TWIG  MOTH — Anarsia  lineatella  (Zeller). 

In  June  last,  some  examples  were  sent  to  me  for  determination,  which 
proved  to  be  the  above  insect.  They  were  accompanied  by  the  follow- 
ing note  :  "  The  enclosed  insects  are  very  injurious  to  the  terminal 
branches  of  the  peach-tree.  They  deposit  their  eggs,  either  very  early 
in  the  spring,  just  as  the  buds  are  swelling,  or  the  fall  previous.  The 
terminal  buds  of  all  the  higher  and  outer  branches  are  so  stung,  and 
although  these  buds  develop  into  seemingly  fine  branches,  in  a 
few  weeks  they  wither  and  drop  off.  The  centers  of  the  twigs  are  first 
destroyed  by  these  insects  while  in  the  larva  state.  I  placed  several  of 
the  twigs  in  a  large  bottle,  and  secured  the  inclosed  specimens  from 
them.  One  of  the  pupae  seems  to  be  destroyed  by  some  parasite,  as  it 
looks  as  if  it  was  filled  with  eggs." 

From  the  "above  statement  of  the  habits  of  .the  insect,  and  the  effect 
of  its  operations  upon  the  twigs,  the  specimens  of  the  moth  received, 
although  in  too  poor  condition,  if  sent  alone,  for  identification,  were 
readily  referable  to  the  insect  popularly  known  as  the  peach-twig  moth. 
From  its  small  size  and  structural  characters,  it  is  numbered  among  the 
Microlepidoptera  of  the  family  of  the  Tineidae. 

In  1860,  Dr.  Clemens  bred  this  insect  from  larvae  which  he  found,  on 
the  16th  of  June,  infesting  plum  trees,  and  described  it  under  the  spe- 
ciftc  name  of  prwme//a,  doubtfully  referring  it  to  the  genus  Anarsia  (Pro- 
ceedings Academy  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  1860,  page  169). 
Subsequently  he  identified  it  with  the  European  species,  Anarsia  linea- 
tella of  Europe,  thereby  adding  it  to  the  long  list  of  insect  pests  which 
Europe  has  given  us.  Prof.  Riley  obtained  specimens  of  the  same 
moth  from  peach  twigs,  and  on  submitting  examples  to  Prof.  Zeller, 
they  were  pronounced  identical  with  the  European  insect. 

The  first  published  notice  of  the  operations  of  this  insect  in  this  coun- 
try which  we  have  met  with,  appears  in  the  report  of  the  Entomologist 
(Mr.  Glover)  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washington,  published 
in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Department  for  1872.  Mr.  Glover  says 
of  it : 

"  In  examining  peach  orchards  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Maryland 
Agricultural  College,  about  the  first  week  in  May,  almost  all  the  young 
twigs  of  the  trees  were  observed  to  be  killed  at  the  extreme  end  for  a 
distance  of  from  one  to  two  and  a  half  inches,  and  the  terminal  buds 
entirely  destroyed.  On  cutting  open  these  dying  twigs,  the  injury  was 
found  to  be  caused  by  a  very  minute  caterpillar,  which,  entering  the 
twig  near  a  bud,  had  entirely  eaten  the  pith  and  the  interior,  leaving 
only  its  '  frass '  and  the  exuding  gum  to  mark  the  spot  where  it  had 
entered.  When  confined  in  a  glass  case,  after  about  a  couple  of  weeks, 
several  of  the  larvae  left  the  injured  twigs  and  formed  very  loose  cocoons 
on  the  sides  of  the  box  or  among  the  rubbish  arid  old  leaves  lying  scat- 
tered on  the  earth,  and  in  about  six  to  ten  days,  the  perfect  moth 
appeared  [last  of  May].  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  The  tail  of  the  pupa 
is  attached  to  a  little  button  of  silk,  in  an  exceedingly  slight  cocoon. 
There  was  scarcely  a  single  young  tree  in  the  peach  orchard  examined 
that  was  not  more  or  less  injured  by  this  little  pest,  and  at  least  as  many 
as  from  twenty  to  fifty  injured  twigs  were  found  on  some  very  young 


13  ,  ,  ,  ::v,  ',,..  i    , 

trees.  After  the  insect  leaves  the  twig,  the  injured  part  dries  up  and 
breaks  off.  This  insect  was  also  seen,  though  in  much  smaller  numbers, 
last  season,  in  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Apple  trees  are  also  similarly 
injured  in  a  similar  manner  in  Marylapd,  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
damage  is  done  by  the  same  worm." 

"  The  larvae  are  about  0.25  inch  in  length  ;  head  black  ;  body  dark 
reddish-brown,  with  lighter  rings — the  third  ring  being  more  conspicu- 
ous and  whitish.  The  moth  is  quite  small,  and  measures  from  0.40  to 
0.60  of  an  inch  in  expanse  of  wings,  and  is  of  a  pale  grey  color,  with  a 
few  blackish  spots  on  the  upper  wings." 

From  a  recent  communication  of  Professor  Comstock,  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  made  to  the  Western  New  York  Horticultural 
Society,  we  have  information  of  the  ravages  of  this  insect  in  several 
portions  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  statement  of  the  habits  of  the 
caterpillar  made  by  Professor  Comstock,  differs  in  some  particulars  from 
that  of  Mr.  Glover,  above  quoted.  According  to  his  observations,  "  it 
destroys  the  terminal  leaf-bud,  and  sometimes  the  lateral  buds,  in  the 
following  manner:  The  young  caterpillar  begins  its  work  in  the 
spring  at  the  time,  or  soon  after,  the  shoots  begin  to  grow.  These,  when 
from  one-half  to  one  inch  in  length,  are  punctured  at  the  base  and  eaten 
completely  off.  The  leaves  of  the  bud  unfold  and  then  wither.  The  twig, 
although  severed,  does  not  drop  off,  but  is  held  in  place  by  a  gummy 
substance.  All  the  twigs  on  some  trees  are  destroyed,  especially 
on  two-year  old  trees.  Mr.  Green,  of  Clifton,  N.  Y.,  had  100  trees 
infested.  The  larvae  became  full-grown  during  the  latter  part  of  May 
or  early  in  June.  Specimens,  collected  June  10th,  were  found  to  have 
changed  to  pupae  June  14th."  The  period  of  their  emerging  as  moths 
was  not  observed,  as  they  were  found  dead  in  their  breeding-cage  some 
time  during  the  summer. 

In  addition  to  this  insect's  occurrence  at  Ithaca,  it  was  also  observed 
at  Rochester,  Lockport,  and  at  Jordan  Station,  Ontario.  Its  operations 
have  not  come  under  my  personal  notice,  but  its  presence  in  the  eastern 
portion  of  our  State  is  very  probable,  from  statements  made  to  me  two 
years  ago,  of  an  affection  of  some  peach  trees  in  Schenectady  and 
Albany. 

In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Entomological  Society  of  Ontario  for  the 
year  1872,  published  in  1873,  we  learn  that  the  ravages  of  this  insect 
are  not  confined  to  the  peach,  plum,  and  perhaps  the  apple,  but  that  it 
also  occurs  under  very  different  conditions  and  affecting  a  very  different 
food-plant.  In  this  report,  Mr.  Wm.  Saunders,  the  editor  of  the  Cana- 
dian Entomologist,  describes  the  insect  under  the  name  of  the  strawberry 
root  or  crown-borer.  During  the  years  1868  and  1869,  it  was  very  destruc- 
tive in  certain  grounds  at  St.  Thomas,  Ontario,  the  caterpillar  eating 
irregular  channels  in  various  directions  through  the  crown  and  larger 
roots  of  the  strawberry  plants,  causing  them  to  wither  and  die.  Mr. 
Saunders  gives  a  minute  description  of  the  caterpillar,  narrates  its  his- 
tory, states  that  it  probably  has  two  annual  broods,  and  quotes  the 
description  of  the  moth  given  by  Dr.  Clemens,  under  the  name  of  prui- 
nella,  as  before  stated.  For  convenience  of  reference,  we  copy  the 
description : 

"Head  and  face  pale  grey;  thorax,  dark  grey.  Labial  palpi,  dark 
fuscous  externally,  and  pale  grey  at  the  end  ;  terminal  joint  grey,  dusted 
with  dark  fuscous.  Antennae  greyish,  annulated  with  dark  brown. 
Fore  wings  grey,  dusted  with  blackish-brown,  with  a  few  blackish-brown 


14 

spots  along  the  costa,  the  largest  in  the  middle,  and  short  blackish- 
brown  streaks  on  the  median  nervure,  subcostal,  in  the  fold,  and  one  or 
two  at  the  tip  of  the  wing ;  cilia  fuscous  grey.  Hind  wings  fuscous 
grey ;  cilia  grey,  tinted  with  yellowish." 

^Specimens  of  the  larvae  obtained  late  in  the  season  were  found  alive 
within  their  thin  silken  cocoons  on  the  12th  of  January,  rendering  it  pro- 
bable that  this  brood  hybernate  in  the  larval  state,  and  transform  to' 
pupae  in  the  spring,  a  short  time  before  their  appearance  in  their  perfect 
state. 

The  above  strawberry  root  or  crown-borer  of  Saunders  should  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  strawberry  crown-borer  of  Riley — an  insect  belonging 
not  to  the  order  of  Lepidoptera,  but  to  the  Coleoptera,  of  the  family 
commonly  known  as  snout-beetles  or  weevils.  This  latter  insect  has 
been  described  and  figured  in  its  larval  and  perfect  stages  by  Prof. 
Riley  (Third  Report  on  the  Insects  of  Missouri,  p.  42,  fig.  14,  1871)  as 
Analcis  fragrance.  So  far  as  known,  it  is  confined  to  the  Mississippi 
valley,  and  has  not,  to  our  knowledge,  been  reported  from  the  Eastern 
States.  Its  habit  of  boring  down  through  the  crown  of  the  strawberry 
plant  into  the  pith  and  eating  through  the  more  woody  portions,  is  very 
similar  to  that  recorded  of  the  Anarsia  lineatella,  and  the  ravages  of  the 
two  insects  in  localities  where  they  conjointly  occur,  are  liable  to  be  con- 
founded. The  general  use  of  common  names  for  our  insects,  birds, 
fishes,  mammals,  etc.,  very  often  results  in  serious  confusion,  when  with 
little  difficuly  the  scientific  name,  which  always  indicates  the  object 
referred  to,  could  be  acquired. 

It  is  gratifying  to  know,  that  in  all  probability,  this  destructive  pest 
has  already  been  attacked  by  a  parasite  which  promises  to  perform  an 
effective  part  in  checking  its  ravages.  The  "  pupa  apparently  tilled  with 
parasitic  eggs,"  referred  to  in  the  communication  accompanying  the 
examples  sent  to  me,  is  the  dead  body  of  a  caterpillar,  distended  to  its 
utmost  capacity  by  the  presence  of  no  less  than  fifty-one  pupa-cases  of 
apparently  some  hymenopterous  insect.  They  had  been  crushed  in  their 
transit  through  the  mail,  preventing  the  perfect  insect  being  obtained 
from  them,  or  even  an  approximate  reference  of  their  relationship. 
Prof.  Riley  has  also  received  examples  of  the  caterpillars  infested  with 
parasites. 

Should  the  increase  of  this  insect  riot  be  prevented  by  parasitic  agency, 
then  the  most  effectual  means  of  arresting  it  will  be  the  cutting  off  of 
the  infested  terminal  twigs  of  the  trees  upon  which  it  occurs — readily  to 
be  distinguished  by  the  drying  up  of  the  leaves — and  burning  them  with 
their  contained  borers.  This  must  be  done  during  the  month  of  May 
or  early  in  June,  before  the  larvae  have  attained  their  maturity,  after 
which  they  leave  their  burrows  to  seek  some  sheltered  place  beneath 
the  loose  bark  of  the  trunk,  leaves  upon  the  ground,  or  elsewhere,  where 
they  may  construct  their  cocoons  arid  undergo  their  final  transforma- 
tion. Strawberry  plants  giving  indication  of  their  presence,  should 
be  promptly  uprooted  and  burned. 

NEW  YORK  STATE  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY,  ) 
January  22,  1879.  j" 


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